On the fringes of the Equinet board meeting in Warsaw on 16 March, Equinet board members and staff met with key actors in the field of equality in Poland, including the Commissioner for Human Rights Adam Bodnar, the Plenipotentiary for Civil Society and Equal Treatment and representatives of civil society.

The Annual Report of the Ombudswoman of Croatia for 2015 is now available in English. This comprehensive overview of the state of human rights and occurrences of discrimination offers 160 recommendations to Croatian authorities, which are elaborated in over 50 thematic chapters of the Report.

Widespread deprivation is destroying Roma lives - families are living excluded from society in shocking conditions, while children with little education face bleak prospects for the future, a new report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows. The report, published on 29 November 2016, analyses the gaps in Roma inclusion around the EU to guide Member States seeking to improve their integration policies.

The survey shows data for 8 countries, with those for Croatia being in accordance with the state of human rights and discrimination of Roma minority described in the Annual report of the Ombudswoman of Croatia. 

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, met with Deputy Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter and advisers at the Office of the Ombudswoman on 29 November in Zagreb. The Ombudswoman for Childre Ivana Milas Klarić, the Ombudswoman for persons with disabilities Anka Slonjšak and the representative of the Office of the Ombudwoman for gender equality participated in the meeting, along with their associates.

National preventive mechanisms (NPM) from 13 countries gathered in Zagreb on 29 and 30 November 2016 for the Conference of NPMs of the South-East Europe Network.

The Conference was dedicated to the marking of 10 years of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). During the two days, the event included discussions on strengthening the follow-up of NPM
recommendations, implementation of the UN Mandela Rules and the role of NPMs in protection of refugees and migrants.